SEPTEMBER is a busy time in the garden. Many perennials are dying back, climbers need to be tidied, hedges trimmed and summer pots emptied and planted up for the winter.

Time can be spent on the lawn, which will need rejuvenating after the summer, and edible crops such as tomatoes are in a frenzy of ripening.

Swiss chard also comes into its own this month and looks wonderful in the garden as the brightly coloured stems glow in the low autumn sun. Their season can be extended by several weeks by leaving three or four of the central leaves on the plant after harvesting the rest.

At this time of year, I find it best to cook the leaves rather than use them in salad. I remove the central rib First to cook separately as this can take longer than the green leafy part, which really just needs to be wilted.

There are plenty of late-summer flowers in bloom, dahlias, rudbeckias, grasses and michaelmas daisies are all filling our garden with colour.

Hydrangea villosa is looking especially good. This is perhaps a more unusual member of the hydrangea family with long woody stems, large felty oval leaves and beautiful pale purple flowers that bloom in late summer. It loves to be in shade, although it can cope with a little dappled sun.

Ours was badly affected by the cold weather we had last February when the leaves were killed off by frost. It was a sorry sight, but by April new buds had formed and within weeks leaves had unfurled and it had got back into its stride.

Community Kids Allotment

LOW Moor Community Kids Allotment is holding a sale of potted herbs and home produced preserves on Saturday, September 26, from noon until 4pm. The sale will take place in the car park of Low Moor Allotments, which is at the bottom end of Kilburn Road, off Fulford Road.

Members of the regular Saturday gardening session at the allotment will also be on hand to show visitors around their productive plot from 2pm to 4pm.

Low Moor Community Kids Allotment has received two grants from York and North Yorkshire Community Foundation during the past five years and in recognition of this, proceeds from the sale will be donated to ‘A Yorkshire Journey’.

This event has been organised by the foundation to generate publicity and raise awareness of its work with both urban and rural communities in our area.

A Yorkshire Journey is a 400-mile cycle ride by Gil Richardson, following a route originally made 80 years ago by puppeteer Walter Wilkinson. He walked through Yorkshire performing on village greens and wrote a book detailing his experiences. Gil will finish her journey tomorrow in Skipton. More details on ynycf.org.uk

Weekend catch-up

TAKE time to spend on the lawn this weekend, which may be in need of some attention. There are four steps that can be taken in September to improve the lawn for next summer.

Firstly, rake or scarify accumulated clippings and moss, called thatch, from the surface of the lawn. This can build up over the years to produce a thick layer which stops water and nutrients reaching the grass roots. A spring tine rake is the best tool to use.

Secondly, aerate areas of the lawn which become water logged in wet weather by pushing a garden fork into the area. Sink the fork in to the depth of its prongs at approximately 20cm intervals and rock slightly back and forth before carefully pulling it out.

Thirdly, brush in a top dressing. This can be bought ready made from a garden suppliers or by making it up with six parts sharp sand, three parts sieved garden soil and one part sieved compost. The dressing fills in small hollows and holes and helps with the aeration of the lawn.

Lastly, the lawn can be fed with an autumn lawn feed or by using lawn sand which helps to green up the grass and control moss.

Gardening TV and radio

Tomorrow.

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart are out and about in the region.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther with Joe Maiden. Gardening advice from Tim and Joe.

2pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Chris Beardshaw, Bunny Guinness, Bob Flowerdew and chairman Eric Robson answer questions from visitors to the annual GQT Garden party at RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate. The gardening weather forecast is at 2.40pm. (Repeated from Friday).

Friday.

3pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners’ Question Time. A second visit to the GQT Garden Party at RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate. This time Peter Gibbs is in the chair as John Cushnie, Pippa Greenwood and Anne Swithinbank help out with horticultural problems. Pippa looks at putting fun into fungi and Anne launches the GQT slug deterrent trial. The gardening weather forecast is at 3.40pm. (Repeated on Sunday).

8.30pm, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Joe Maiden visits Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire and gets some ideas on plant combinations and Carol looks at using asters and rudbeckias for late summer colour.